


Don't Cost A Thing

by Cawerkuu



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Accidental Relationship, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Gang World, Attempted Murder, Bullying, Child Neglect, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Gang Violence, How Do I Tag, Hurt Dan Howell, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, M/M, Multi, Past Sexual Abuse, Pastel Dan Howell, Pastel Dan and Punk Phil, Punk Phil Lester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 17:49:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17288606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cawerkuu/pseuds/Cawerkuu
Summary: Dan Howell is just a normal guy. Well, normal in the fact that he adores so-called feminine, light-colored clothing with pretty flower crowns on his head. He's just a normal guy, trying to work through university. Which is why he finds it strange when he wakes up tied to a chair in a poorly lit room with a hot leather-wearing blue eyed older man hovered him, yelling and cursing about some 'PJ' and something about half a million dollars. It's even worse considering it's his birthday.





	Don't Cost A Thing

**Author's Note:**

> I realised I spelled Charlie's name as Charile all throughout this fic and for that I'm sorry. I'm far too lazy and tired to go back and correct it.

Dan would say he was okay for who he is. He's not really out there when it comes to socializing whether it's with the number of friendships he's gotten over the years or the number of relationships he's had in the last decade of his life. He has a few friends who don't really care about him and seem to be into him because he happens to be there but he doesn't necessarily care because at least he has someone. Sure, his romance game sucks but when he gathers the courage to go to a bar at night, everyone is staring at him and there's at least one guy with a fetish for cross-dressing so that helps whenever he wants to get off by something that's not his left hand. 

He lives the average life really. He just happens to like wearing flower crowns and pretty so-claimed feminine clothes. Sure, maybe a skirt or two with some pretty ruffles on his numerous blouses was out of the ordinary for most boys but he had a decent upbringing. 

Maybe his father liked to drink more than he liked to spend time with him and his brother. Maybe his mother preferred working with her clients more than she cared about making sure her sons felt loved and safe within their own home. Maybe his grandmother was the only person he had to raise and love him but she was so religious that he felt like he suffocating whenever he woke up in the morning but that's average. A lot of people have problems with their families and people have their flaws, some worse than others. 

He's twenty-two years old, trying to manage through university fees with a shitty mandatory paycheck at the end of the month from the stupid overpopulated shop that he works at down the block from his school. He knows how to stay on his two feet even when times get tough. He's got no romantic partner whatsoever, his classes and work hours barely give him enough time to sleep for a few hours before his alarms ring off to kick him out of sweet dreamland and send him off to suffer for another shift or another hour-long class. 

He's tired constantly but who isn't at University? Especially with a major in something like Psychology and Law. Yes, you heard that correctly! He's doing a double-major! He thought it would be more beneficial for him but he was being naive. It didn't help his Law professor looked at him in disgust. He assumed perhaps it was because his clothing style didn't scream 'lawyer' or 'prosecutor'. 

But now, he just really wants some sleep. For the first time in two years since entering University and grabbing himself a spot at his job, he's taken a day off just for himself. Somehow with the grace of God, he got his birthday off and he couldn't wait to sleep in. 

"Dan, where are you going?" Charlie, one of his peers who doesn't particularly like him, stared at him with narrowed eyes. He didn't just particularly like him, he seemed to hate Dan for whatever reason. He wasn't really sure why but he didn't have the courage to ask. He was far too shy and withdrawn for that. 

"To go marry my bed," Dan joked, trying to find the right goddamn key. Why did he have so many keys? He should really get rid of some of them. 

"Like you don't slack around enough," Charlie spat, making Dan roll his eyes silently. Charlie caught him bringing one of the tech students back to his dorm room since the jerk lives right across the hall from Dan's. He had tried to avoid this situation by getting a dorm room alone but apparently, that didn't matter to whatever forsaken force that seems to want him to suffer. 

"Ah, isn't that what University is about? Drinking booze, throwing your insides out, and praying to the Lord overhead that you, by some miracle, pass that final on Monday you have a hangover?" Dan joked again, trying to the lighten up the mood a little. He wasn't a witty or talkative person, not at all, but people like Charlie light a fire underneath his bum. It wasn't fair how Charlie berated and degraded him but he could live with it, he supposed. 

"Maybe for you. Some people here actually have some dignity. You're probably fucking your professors to get your As." Charlie spat behind him, his eyes burning Dan's body with the intense hatred he knew was directed his way. He really hated Dan and the curly-haired male couldn't figure out for the life of him as to why.

"I have female professors, Charlie." Dan laughed, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of him sleeping with a woman. He's about as straight as his hair. "I'm far too gay for that."

"Yeah, you'd be the type to be cockslut." Charlie scoffed, making Dan silently sigh. He was so mean but from what Dan heard he had a boyfriend so it's not like he could insult Dan's sexuality without being a huge hypocrite. 

"If I like cock, I like cock." Dan managed to find the goddamn key, finally. He hurried to slid the key in and turn it, unlocking the door. He hurried beyond the doorframe before Charlie could insult him again, closing the door behind him. He let out a huff of relief, falling against the wooden worn-down door that was covered in stickers and writings from former residents. He let his eyes fall shut and breath in. 

"Okay, finally! I'm away from that fucking twat." Dan slid off his bookbag, tossing it and his coat onto his couch as he walked past it to the mini-fridge he kept in the room. He bent down, opening the door and looking for something to eat so he could finally relax. Seeing as he was poor and in need of food, he grabbed Totino's pizza rolls like an angsty fourteen years old who was too interested in Call of Duty game to worry about what he was shoving into his piehole and put them in his microwave. 

His eyelids felt heavy as he fought to stay awake, watching the plate spin in the golden window of the cheap microwave. But he couldn't sleep just yet! He had to eat and change first. Watching the numbers tick down on the timer, he figured it was better than any time to change down. Standing up - a little dizzy at first - and went to the drawer embedded in his bed frame, fishing clothes out of it. He chose his white pajamas that have different color stars imprinted on them. Some are pink, some are purple, some are blue, pretty much all the pretty colors that he adored on it. He smiled, finally cozy. 

Hearing the ding of the microwave, he pushed it open and grabbed the plate from it. Finally feeling a little bit at peace, he let himself relax into the comfort of his bed and turned his laptop on, ready to watch his favorite show on repeat until he falls asleep. He breathes in, feeling the comfort of the soft beneath his bum and the warmness from his plate.

It's nice. Finally being able to relax after the numerous hours he spends working whether it's at the shop or with thesis papers. Now it's time to watch a show he's seen fifteen and a half times and become fat from stuffing it with pizza.

"Finally, some me time! Now, more of The Office." He smiled, watching the opening of the show happily.

-x-

Strange. His back was stiff - which is normal considering his poor self-care skills - and his limbs felt immobile. No, he could move them. Sure, he could but it was more like a struggle and the most he did, the most his wrist seemed to burn almost. 

"What the-" Dan peeled open from eyes that were heavy from sleep, looking down and seeing a terrifying sight. His heart began to race, beating loudly in his fears, letting him know how scared and anxious he was like he wasn't already aware. 

He was fucking tied to a chair! What the fuck?! This can't be happening! One moment he was sleeping comfortably in his bed at his University to the sound of The Office playing and now he's fucking tied to a chair in the middle of a dark and cold room. 

"I see you're finally awake," An unfamiliar voice that was strong like honey and rich as chocolate scoffed. His flight or fight responses began to try to kick in as he struggles to get his confinements undone or loosen. He's not sure what he would even do if he got free from the chair, after all, he's in a small dark room with cracks and water dripping through the weak ceiling. Where would he go? Surely this small room is just apart of a huge terrifying building surrounded with other people ready to shoot his head off if he dared. He isn't even sure where he is in the first place. Was he still in Manchester? Or was he in another part of Britain? They couldn't have flown him out of the country, right? Someone would have noticed! "Oh, come on. There's no point of struggling. We have an ex-navy officer so those knots aren't loosening for someone like you."

Someone like you? What the fuck is that suppose to mean? How did he liking acclaimed girly clothing equal to him being weak? What bullshit! 

"I see you're a little feisty thing, aren't you, Doll?" The man chuckles, his lit cigarette being the only thing lighting beside the cheap light overhead barely hanging onto its wires. 

'Doll'. Doll is a name that strikes fear in him from a previous relationship that went way downhill way too fast. By downhill, he means violent and toxic. It took everything out of Dan to end it. He feels himself stiffen, his head lowering as he stares at the stars on his white pajamas. He can hear his breath hitching, his breath slowly becoming uneven as the memories flood back and crash down on him like a rollercoaster. 

"...Don't call me that," He protests weakly. He knows he sounds small and weak and pathetic with the way it comes out.  

"Aw, what? Is it embarrassing? Do you not like it, Doll?" The man sneers, completely unapologetic. Dan, somewhere back in his mind where logic is, understands reasonably why the man is like this. Dan is his kidnapped victim, after all, he can call him whatever he pleases and Dan can't do a thing, even if he wasn't bound to a chair. 

But Dan is running on adrenaline and emotions right now, not thinking clearly with any logic or reasoning. He just wants out of this chair, away from wherever he is, and back in his dorm room. He'll take any work hours and a hundred thesis papers to get out of this mess that he somehow got himself into.

Speaking of which, how did he get into this mess? Why would this man want him? What use does he have? Furthermore, how the fuck did he kidnapped Dan? He was on University grounds for fuck's sakes! 

Dan had so many questions but he's studied Law which means he's studied cases but he's not just any student. He's not talented in the slightest bit nor is he genetically born with intelligence. He has to work twice, no, three times as harder than anyone in his classes. He studies all the cases he can in order so he can ace the exams and stick in those rich bastards faces who do nothing but drink away and then get to pass because they were gifted with smart genes. 

He's read up on kidnapping cases, all with different reasons, different victims, and different outcomes. He needs to follow what the victims did in the good outcome, the one where he's rescued and survives. The best way to do that is complicit to the kidnapper's wishes and just try to say alive as long as he could. He needed breath in and calm down. He needed to survive. He could do this. With his understanding of the Law and Psychology, he just might make it out alive if he plays his cards out right. 

"You're quiet," The man whispers lowly, footsteps following after his statement. They get louder and louder meaning he's getting closer and closer. He steps out of the shadows and closer to the cheap light, allowing Dan to get a look at his kidnapper. The man is more handsome than he expected.

He expected someone more bulky and dirty, one that smells of cheap booze and lousy cigars from old run-down gas stations. But this man is lean and muscular with tattoos lining seemingly each every of his collarbone that was peaking out beyond that muscle tank top and his arms was covered all the way down to his wrist that was seen thanks to the denim jacket's sleeves being folded a few times up. He had high hips, reminding Dan of those Vogue models he would see on magazines at his work. The male's skin was pale all over with a slim figure with bright enticing blue eyes and soft black hair that was brushed up into a quiff, making him having this graceful look about it. 

"I would expect you to be screaming your head off, givin' me a headache." The male walked around the chair. Dan could tell he was wearing tight jeans from how his plump legs were spilling out of the ripped patches of the dark pants. He should stop focusing on his kidnapper's looks and start figuring out on a way to play him so he could get out of here unscathed. "But you're really quiet. I don't even have tape on those pretty pink lips."

He's not sure if he should take that as a compliment or not. It didn't help his kidnapper was more than just attractive. No, bad Dan! Don't let your dick take control! 

"It's too bad that your boss didn't protect you more," He purred. Dan hated how much he loved that sound. "How did a pretty thing like you end up in a gang like that?"

Wait, what? 

This situation was already crazy as it was. With him waking up on his birthday tied to a chair in an unknown location in a crappy room with a stupid light that's about to snap off and fall on his face was already crazy and insane and mind-blowing as it was. But now, they believe he's in some sort of gang? What the fuck? 

Were they seriously that stupid? Did they grab the wrong person? Who the fuck were they looking for on campus? Oh, boy would they be disappointed. 

"W-what?" He squeaked out, narrowing his eyes at his kidnapper who stared back into his with complete confidence. The man's pale pink lips turned up at his pathetic voice probably. Even if they were that stupid, he was still terrified out his mind. 

"Yeah, you posh should stick back where you grew up. Manchester is ours." The man's cigarette dropped from those soft-looking lips, landing on the ground not too far from Dan's foot. He smiled sinfully, stomping down on the addictive killing machine, crushing it. "I mean, really? You steal one of our best men and then demand half a million from us? I'm offended that you guys think that's all he's worth. I was expectin' least a million, buddy." 

Literally what the fuck? 

How did Dan scream gang? What made him a 'gangsta'? He was anything but gang material. 

He wore pastel and feminine clothing every day. He's studying Law, that and criminals don't typically mix, you know. He worked all hours of the day and had too many classes to just count on his hand so where would he get the time to even be in a gang? 

Who did they think he even was? 

"PJ, that's his fucking name, you bastard!" A flip seemed to switch in just a millisecond as the unnamed male snatched onto Dan's curls, yanking him forward. It really stained his neck and ow, his scalp! "I don't know you think you're doing with trying to bribe us but you've got another thing coming!" 

He saw the fist and his heart beat a ridiculous pace. Such a pace that he thought for a second he was having a heart attack. 

"Daniel James Howell!" He screamed, squeezing his eyes shut in preparation for the hit. 

"What?" The guy sneered. 

"Daniel James Howell!" He hollered again, hearing his breath hitch and become uneven. "I'm twenty-two! I have a mom, dad, and older brother! I'm taking a double-major of Law and Psychology! I work at the Joy House near Manchester University! I work so many hours and have too many classes to be in a fucking gang! And I'm far too poor for it!"

He hoped that when he opened his eyes that the guy would understand and back off and maybe even let him go. After a few moments of silence, he peeled open his eyes but saw nothing but the hard glare of bright blue eyes. Of course, that wouldn't fucking work. They weren't so playable as normal people.

"Do you really think I'll believe that? You fucking twat-"

"I'm not lying! The dorm you kidnapped me away from is registered with my name!" Dan's chest heaved. "I swear! I don't know who you think you've got but it's not who you think! I'm just a student who took a day off for his birthday! Please, just-just look into it! At the very least!" 

He seemed to take mercy in Dan, letting his hair go with a shove of his head. Dan watched in horror, trying to gather himself again for the second time since he awoke, as he huffed at the door of the room. 

"Don't even try to fucking leave," Phil glared back at him. Damn, even his neck had tattoos on them. That boy must be loaded with the known amount of money it costs to get each tattoo. Well, he's in a gang so he must be or maybe he got it for free by scaring the tattoo artist to death. "Though, I doubt you will. You know, being tied to a chair and all."

Was this dude bipolar or something? One moment he was silent as a mouse when he was sneaky and cruel as a snake. Out of nowhere, he became as feisty as a bull and now he was back to cruel as a snake. Dan couldn't get a good read on him.

By the way, he walked and spoke, he was confident in himself and what he was doing. By that logic, he must have done this a thousand times before and knew how each one went. Dan assumed it always went in the gang member's favor.

But now, he was left here to just stare at the light that was bound to hit him in the face anytime soon. Or he could count how many times he heard the droplets of water splattered away the cold floorboard. Was it concrete or wood? Maybe even metal? Dan couldn't tell. Perhaps he could trace the cracks on the walls with his eyes.

"Well, well," Before he could decide which one to do first, he heard a familiar voice. He snapped his head forward, staring speechlessly at the brown-haired male before him. "What do we have here, hm?"

"Charlie!" Dan gaped. Charlie knew who he was for a fact. Did he see them take Dan? Was he apart of the gang? He had to be if he had access to the rooms! "What- what is going here...?"

"Well, it won't cost you a thing to find out now, will it?" 

Dan didn't like the sound of that. He felt the subconscious shiver run through his limbs, shaking against the wooden chair. The one he was tied to, rendered completely helpless to whatever Charlie was planning. Dan knew this couldn't be good. Not with Charlie. 

"Now, let's play." Charlie cracked a grin, cocking his head to the side. Dan didn't like that look in his eyes. "Don't you wanna?"

'Survive. Just make it through everything. You just have to survive.' Dan reminded himself, biting his lower lip in worry. He latched onto the handles of the chair's arms for support, breathing in deeply to calm his nerves once more despite the frantic thumping in his chest.

"Sure, " Dan mustered up an awkward but polite smile, hoping for the best. 

What could happen? Surely Charlie didn't despise him so much as to murder him. 

Hopefully, at least.


End file.
